Mrs. Hepburn first rose to prominence when she caught the eye of a ballet critic in 1941. “As they are all at the beginning of their careers as dancers, we prefer to name only one, Audrey Hepburn. Although aged only 12, she stood out by her personality and highly personal interpretation.”

Audrey Hepburn was able to reach millions and inspire the globe because she was distinct. Be yourself and others will follow – it is this irony that is at the heart of all good ad campaigns. Individuality is what we have in common and it is those individuals that Brands need to speak to in order to capture the masses

“To be effective you must speak to what you believe in. Have a singular voice.” – Ed Cotton BSSP

The Nike I.D. campaign exemplifies the strength of empowering personality.

We consume all sorts of media these days. We check our Twitter feed in the morning, Facebook at work, and T.V. at night. Our consumption is fragmented and inconsistent. And this fragmentation has left advertisers asking were they should be when they want to talk to us. The problem is, we don’t even know. Not only are there new media channels constructed daily, but our habits with the existing outlets tend to be random and subjective. I’ll get a Youtube itch, spend hours a day looking at videos then get burned out and leave it alone for a week. The same is true for Netflix, flikr, blogs and all the other weird places I go online.

Marketers are left with only two things they can count on- what it looks like when we buy it, and how it works when we use it. In other words, Brands have to tell their story through how they present their product in stores and how it works when we get it home. These are the only two guaranteed points of contact, they also happen to be the most practical, which should lead to transparency and functionality. It used to be that a Brand could focus theirs efforts on a mass media campaign and build an image of the product in the consumer’s mind before they walked into a store. This is all changed. We don’t just watch TV anymore. If Brands can’t fall back on a fancy mass media campaign they have to focus on the product itself. Because of the complex media environment, Brands are have been forced to simplify their message and improve their product.

“Its all about when the customers are choosing, and when they are using.”

Visa’s Go World campaign is a great example of engaging storytelling. They used straightforward cinematography to tell a story packed with emotion. Although the visuals were compelling, the narrative forecasted everything you needed to see. Most importantly they didn’t delude the story with flash, gimmicks or a two for one deal. They modestly told a captivating story. And now we associate Visa with class and zeal.

When your story’s good, just tell it. When your art is gorgeous, just show it. Don’t ask. Passion needs no permission.